Versatile hangers capable of the display, for merchandising, or retention of two piece garments of the type described have been provided heretofore as represented, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,079. Generally speaking a hanger of that type comprises a hook adapted to be engaged over a bar, a cross piece or hanger bar formed on or affixed to the hook and, at the ends of this bar, a number of retainers designed to engage shoulder straps of a brassiere, swimsuit top or other garment adapted to be worn on the shoulders of the wearer. Retainers also may be provided at the bottom of the bar at each end so that the strap can be doubly secure or so that a strap of another portion of the garment can be inserted therein. Finally retainers can be provided at the ends of the bar so as to be effective in securing vertical portions of a garment such as the waistband of a pair of panties o pants or the swimsuit bottom.
In earlier devices, to provide the necessary flexibility for insertion of the garment parts in the retainers, each of the retainers has generally been constructed as a finger bent back on itself so that, at each bend, one portion of the finger extends parallel to another portion thereof but inwardly of that other portion to define the flexible free end member which can be readily deflected and engaged with the garment.
The entire hanger is molded in one piece by an injection molding process from a synthetic resin or plastic material.
Generally the hangers are supplied in bulk to a merchandiser of the garment and thus the speed with which the garments can be mounted on the hanger without damage to the garment is an important factor in the economical use of the hanger. One of the problems with the earlier hanger designs has been that a natural motion of guiding the straps or garment edges into the retainers has not been possible and, in effect, the individual using the hanger was forced to demonstrate dexterity if a neat mounting was to be accomplished rapidly.
Another drawback of earlier hanger designs of the aforedescribed type is the tendency for the individually bent free end portions of the integrally molded retainers to break off, thereby rendering the hanger useless, endangering the garment because of the sharp edges which are produced by the break, and posing a significant danger to customers and merchandising personnel because of the possibility that the broken portion could spring into the eye of the individual.